The present invention relates to surgical implants or prosthetics and, more particularly, to a design for an artificial patella, or knee cap, and methods and tools for its installation.
Joint replacement is becoming increasingly widespread. One of the most widely practiced joint replacement involves the knee joint. In many cases, the replacement of the knee joint with a prosthetic also involves the replacement of a portion of the patella with a prosthetic.
Partial replacement of the patella is widely used in the surgical replacement of a damaged portion of the knee joint. However, it is known that, in a significant percentage of the cases, the patella implant typically fails after five to fifteen years. One of the typically occurring failures is near or at the periphery of the circular or elliptical patella implant, where the thickness of the patella implant material, typically high molecular weight high density polyethylene (HDPE), is at its smallest. A failing patella could lead to significant pain in the patient and typically requires a second operation to replace the failed patella implant.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a patella implant which will be more durable than those currently known and which will be significantly less prone to damage due to insufficient thickness, typically about its periphery.